


I Don't Care If They Call Us Crazy

by RobinsonsWereHere



Category: Psych
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood, F/M, IDK how to spell Madeline, Slow Burn, Slowest burn I've ever written, Some dark themes, They keep running into each other, henry's the head ER surgeon, i'm bad at timlines so I just set it in 2019, it's only kind of on purpose, maddie's a psychiatrist, medical AU, plus then we get modern medicine which is nice, this is really fun to write
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2019-12-18 09:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18247412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/pseuds/RobinsonsWereHere
Summary: Henry Spencer is the Head Surgeon in Santa Barbara General Hospital's ER. Madeline Baker is a psychiatrist at the same hospital. He fixes patients as they come in; she's mainly part of the recovery process. Their paths shouldn't cross- there's barely any overlap in their departments. Yet somehow, for whatever reason, they do.





	1. Ladies and Gents, This is The Moment You've Waited For

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myglassesaredirty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/gifts).



> myglassesaredirty asked me for Henry/Maddie medical AU headcanons. I gave them to her, thinking about possibly turning it into a fic. Then she asked me for a fic. Here you go ;)

Madeline Baker listens intently to the young girl in front of her. Unlike the other psychologists in her department, she isn’t taking notes; she finds it easier to pay attention when she gives her patients her full attention. Her recorder is on, but probably unnecessary- she knows from experience that she’ll remember everything the first time around.

“Y’know, for as long as I can remember- because time is weird, especially, when I hit, like, a major depressive episode- for as long as I can remember,” her patient is saying, “I saw the sun in the morning and I was like, ‘ugh, that’s so bright. It hurts my eyes. Why is it even there?’ But this morning I woke up, and I saw the sun and the blue sky and the mural on the building across the street, and I was like, ‘hey. That’s really pretty.’ And… I don’t know, it’s kind of a stupid little thing, but I noticed the difference, and it made me happy.”

Maddie smiles. “Lina, that’s not stupid. It’s wonderful that you saw something that made you happy first thing today, and it’s absolutely _superb_ that you were able to recognize your own improvement. We haven’t even been working together for a week and you’re already doing much better in a multitude of ways than you were when you came in here.”

Lina gives a timid smile. “You think so?”

Maddie grins and taps her name tag. “Well, I would hope all the stuff I had to learn to get my doctorate would be good for something.” Both of them laugh as Maddie stands up from her chair. “Alright, Lina. I hope you have an amazing day; I’ll see you tomorrow!” The cheerful smile she gets from her patient as she leaves the room puts her in a good mood that she can tell will last for hours. Today is going to be a good day.

·························

Henry Spencer curses as yet another alarm starts blaring from one of the monitors attached to the patient on his surgery table. The person whose chest is open under Henry’s hands is fighting a losing battle against the reaper, one that Henry would desperately like to see him win. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. Henry’s working as fast as he can- any faster and he risks the surgery doing more harm than good- but it’s not fast enough. This guy is losing too much blood. But Henry doesn’t give up, no, he didn’t become the head surgeon of this ER by giving up, and he keeps working even after his patient flatlines. He can hear the steady, drawn out beep of the heart rate monitor and he can tell that the flesh under his hands has become lifeless, but he doesn’t stop until a nurse taps him on the shoulder. Henry doesn’t speak but sighs in defeat and leaves the operation room, tossing his gloves and face mask into a trash can. So far there’s nothing new for him, likely because the other surgeons on his team have taken the cases as they come in. It’s also close to lunch time, which is, conveniently, a relatively quiet period in the ER, on most days. Henry decides he’ll check on some previous patients of his before he takes his lunch break.

The last one he gets to is the only survivor of a car crash that had killed his friend in the driver’s seat, and when Henry arrives, there’s a blonde doctor sitting next to his bed, speaking quietly with the patient. Henry recognizes her only enough to know she works in the psychiatry department, which means there’s a good chance he shouldn’t be here right now. When she notices him, however, she smiles.

“Doctor Spencer,” she greets. “I didn’t know you’d be stopping by. If you need to talk with Mr. Harris in private, I’d be happy to leave.”

Henry quickly realizes she assumes he’s come to deliver information about Harris’ medical condition. “No, no,” he says. “Don’t let me interrupt. In fact, I can get going if this is a confidential exchange, Doctor…” he realizes too late that he doesn’t know her name, and the monitor by the bed is conveniently blocking her name tag.

“Madeline Baker,” she tells him, shaking his hand. “And this isn’t an official consultation, so you’re welcome to stay.” She raises an eyebrow and smirks a bit. “Although, I wasn’t aware the head surgeon of the ER had time to do rounds. To hear some of the other doctor’s tell it, you practically live in the operating room.”

Henry chuckles to himself as he picks up the clipboard with the patient’s chart on it. “Of course not- though there have been some long nights where I’m tempted to figure out just how comfy the tables are in there.”

Apparently Dr. Baker shares his sense of humor, because she laughs at that, a real laugh, and Henry thinks that if he can make her laugh a few more times, the pit in his stomach he always gets after losing a patient might just disappear. He smiles, but she’s not done with the banter. “And everyone knows it’s literally impossible to survive off the cafeteria food.”

“Shhh,” he hushes, gesturing to the bed. “That’s supposed to be a secret.” He looks down at Harris, trying to smother his grin as Madeline laughs again. “I apologize, Mr. Harris, my bedside manner is usually much more formal. I guess Dr. Baker is a bad influence.”

Harris is clearly amused by their jokes. “Well, she’s been super serious with me every time until you got here, so maybe it’s the other way around.”

Henry smirks. “Touche.”

The rest of the visit goes smoothly, and Henry’s glad to see that his patient is recovering well. He has to admit, his enjoyment of the conversation is likely due more to Dr. Baker than Mr. Harris, but somehow they all end up talking long into Henry’s lunch break. Honestly, he would have gladly lost the opportunity to eat just to keep the conversation from ending, but Madeline is called to a new case and they have to go their separate ways.

Later that night, Henry has mixed feelings about the day as a whole. He hates when anyone flatlines on his operating table, but the blonde psychiatrist with the wonderful laugh and the teasing smile had just about made his day. He shrugs. _I guess you’ve gotta be good with people to work in psychiatry._

······················

It’s a few weeks before Maddie sees Henry again, and when she does, they don’t exactly get time to talk. They’re standing in a room crowded with doctors, nurses, and, oddly enough, law enforcement when her eyes meet his. He smiles and waves; she smiles back, happy to see him. The next moment, they’re being instructed on the current situation (a bit of a mess involving the Santa Barbara Police, several near-dead victims of arson, and one woman who is either a dangerous criminal or was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time). This is, apparently, where Maddie comes in. As the ER doctors file quickly out of the room, she steps toward her boss to clarify. “Doctor Taylor, you want me to psychoanalyze the suspect? Are you asking me to tell you if she’s guilty?”

“I’m asking you to treat her as you would any other patient, Doctor Baker,” he responds. “Depending on her physical condition, I expect your preliminary report on my desk anywhere from three to six hours from now.”

“Excuse me, Dr. Taylor, that won’t be necessary,” says a blonde woman in a suit whom Maddie assumes is a detective. “Once Ms. Turner wakes, we’ll get an SBPD profiler in to question her. Especially since she’s a danger to others- I’d hate for any harm to come to your staff.”

“I think between our security staff and the officer’s you’ve already posted outside the room she’ll be fine,” he retorts. The detective folds her arms.

“Excuse me, Detective…” Maddie steps forward but falters, realizing she doesn’t know the woman’s name.

“Vick,” she offers.

“Detective Vick, you’re speaking as though you’re certain Ms. Turner is guilty, but earlier you said it was unclear from the evidence whether she was the perpetrator or simply a bystander.” Maddie cocks her head, pursing her lips. “Or is ’innocent until proven guilty’ somehow not applicable in this situation?”

Detective Vick raises an eyebrow. “You’re a smartass, Doctor Baker.”

“So I’ve been told.”

The two women stare each other down for a few more seconds. Doctor Taylor looks faintly bewildered at the whole exchange. Finally, Vick places her hands on her hips. “Alright, do what you think is best. But we’re going to have to find a way to work around doctor-patient confidentiality, because if you get anything that says she’s guilty, I want to know about it.”

“And if she’s not?” Maddie queries.

“Then we’ve still got an arsonist on the loose,” Vick grumbles. With that, she stalks out of the room and down the hall.

························

Henry doesn’t _need_ to go through the psych ward to get to his office, but the catwalk between the psychiatry and surgery departments has walls that are basically all window and look out over the sunny courtyard. At least, that’s what he tells himself. Besides, Dr. Baker is probably busy; he’d heard she’d been given the case of the arson suspect while he’d been carefully treating the victims of the same fire. So yes, he’s a bit out of his way, but it’s just to enjoy the view, he’s definitely not hoping to find a certain psychiatrist. That being said, the sight of her standing at the nurse’s station puts a smile on his face. Perhaps he shouldn’t be this happy to see a woman he’s met once…

Henry shakes himself out of his thoughts as Madeline waves to him. “Dr. Spencer,” she says, “I was hoping I could consult you on the condition of the burn victims that came in a few hours ago?”

“Uh, yeah,” Henry replies, because he’s a decorated surgeon who was damn near the top of his class in med school and yet somehow can’t form polysyllabic words. “Um, you’re talking about the ones from the police case, right? I gotta say, whenever the SBPD gets involved, the paperwork increases tenfold.”

She snorts. “Tell me about it. And I have to get this report to my boss before the hour’s up… not to mention the detective who’s extremely determined to arrest this poor girl. Personally, I think- I mean, that’s confidential, I shouldn’t be telling you anything.”

Henry waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll print out a patient report for you… if this damn printer will work.” He groans and turns to a nurse for assistance. Of course, it turns out to be a misaligned roller, which will take at least ten minutes to fix. He sighs and leans against the counter, accidentally knocking over a stack of paper coffee cups. Fumbling, he manages to catch them, and ends up twisted and bent at an awkward angle. Henry grins. “Coffee, Dr. Baker?”

She laughs. “Sure. And you can call me Madeline,” she tells him. 

“You’ve known me for barely a month,” he points out as he fills two cups and hands one to her. “This is the second conversation we’ve had.”

She takes hers, playfulness glittering in her eyes. “Well, Doctor Spencer, I’d say I’m a pretty good judge of character.” 

He grins at her. “Henry. Please.” As he sips at his coffee, a thought occurs to him. “That detective you mentioned… blonde woman? Glares a lot? Probably taller than me in heels?”

Madeline smirks. “Her in heels or you in heels?” Henry snorts. “I know what you meant,” she says. “And yeah, that’s her. You know her?”

He laughs. “Karen ends up on my operating table a few times a year with some wound obtained during a probably ill-advised chase of some criminal. She’s stubborn as hell and far from a model patient, but she’s a damn good cop.”

Her head tilts as she considers his words, probably lining them up next to what she knows about the detective. After a moment, she nods, and he feels like he’s passed some sort of test. “I can see that.”

“Do you psychoanalyze everyone you meet?”

A shrug. “I don’t even do it on purpose. I just… note their behavior and attitude and file away the knowledge for a later time.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” 

As the two doctors are finishing their coffee, the maintenance guy who’d been fixing the printer stands up. “You should be good to go.” 

Henry prints off the report and hands it to the psychiatrist. “See you around, Madeline,” he says.

She smiles. “If you manage to free yourself from the OR,” she teases with a wink. He grins and waves at her as she leaves. It’s only once she’s long gone that he remembers he’d had a destination other than the Psych Ward. Smiling to himself, Henry heads for the covered catwalk, his mind still a million miles away.


	2. A Million Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life, more or less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proofread. Or edited. Just finished and have to go somewhere, so. There may be some typos.

If you’d asked him a month ago, Henry Spencer would have said that there were no benefits to having to come in early for a surgery, and in fact, it was nearly the worst part of his job, second only to working Holidays- don’t even get him started on New Year’s Day. But now, as he walks from the coffee cart towards the clinic office for the psychiatry department, he decides there might just be an advantage to the early start.

The door is slightly open and he gets no answer when he knocks, so Henry slips into the office and finds Madeline at the back, staring out a window as she sits at a paper-strewn desk, earbuds in. He taps her gently on the shoulder and she startles. “Oh! Henry!”

He grins and hands her the coffee. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Whatcha listening to?”

“The recording of my last conversation with the arson suspect, Melissa Brandt. I, uh, I remember better when I hear things than when I see them,” she says, then sips at her drink. “Mmmm, thanks for the coffee. You got my order just right.”

“I asked the barista at the coffee cart what you normally get,” he admits. “So, do you just, not take written notes?”

“Uh, no. I’ve got what’s called an eidetic memory… it’s kind of like a photographic memory, except one, that doesn’t exist, and two, for me it’s sond, not sight.”

“Wow, cool!” Henry exclaims. He’d known from Dr. Taylor’s high recommendation of her that she was bright, but this sounded like more than just skill in her field. “So, are you some sort of genius, or?”

“Oh, no,” Maddie says, blushing. “I mean, technically, but, well, uh-” she gets redder and redder as she stammers, and Henry’s grin grows. “How was your weekend?” She asks finally, clearly trying to change the subject. He takes pity on her.

“It was good! I worked Saturday morning, which had quite a few people waking up to discover the stupid decisions they’d made while drunk, but it wasn’t too bad. How about you?”

“Eh, I had a lot of paperwork, ‘cause the SBPD is still trying to get access to my files. It’s a tricky process.”

“I bet. Hell, I had more paperwork than usual, and all I did was stitch the victims back together.”

Madeline laughs, her blue eyes sparkling. Henry wonders why he’s just now noticing how blue they are. The color is similar to the blue of pool water, but maybe a shade darker, like the ocean in the sun. He shakess himself out of his trance as the PA system crackles to life. _Dr. Spencer to the ER, please. Dr. Spencer to the ER._

He sighs and sets his coffee down. “That’s my cue to leave. Bye, Maddie,” he calls with a wave.

She turns in her chair. “Maddie?” She asks, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, I mean, well, it just slipped out, do you not like nicknames?” It’s now Henry’s turn to become a stuttering mess.

She tilts her head, smiling as she plays with a strand of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail. “I like Maddie,” she answers. “I like it from you.”

·············

At lunch, Maddie doesn’t exactly _intend_ to wait for Henry, but she gets caught up in paperwork and only notices the clock around 1:30. She rushes to the cafeteria and finds Henry, looking drained and a bit exhausted. She sits next to him with her sandwich. “Are you okay?”

Henry sighs. “Yeah. Long surgery, but the patient made it. I’m just kind of worn out.”

Maddie chews slowly on a bite of sandwich. “Would you like to just eat in companionable silence?”

“Actually, I’d love to hear about your day. Talking with you always makes my day better.”

Maddie blushes a bit at that, but nods, thinking about the interesting parts of her day. “Well, one of my patients was deemed no longer a danger to others, so that’s a step in the right direction… another one was finally cleared to a point where we don’t have to restrain her… I’ve had four new cases already, so that’s a larger load than usual, but I’ll get through it… um, the arson case is still a pain in my ass, I keep telling them I’ll give them the report once I’ve reached a satisfactory conclusion, but nooooo, they just want to arrest someone.”

Henry chuckles, and she gives him a look. “What?”

“You’re cute when you’re annoyed.” She must give him some sort of look- hell, she can feel herself bushing again- because he hurries to correct himself. “I mean, I didn’t mean that in a demeaning or condescending way, uh, it’s just, you- you make a face, and you pout, and it’s kind of adorable- I’m just making this worse, aren’t I?”

It’s Maddie’s turn to laugh at his embarrassed rambling. “I’ll let it slide,” she teases.

“Yeah, thanks. Not… not my best moment.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sure you’re normally a very smooth talker.”

“You’re enjoying this.”

“You seem to know just how to make me blush,” Maddie says, smirking at him. “Can you blame me for wanting to return the favor?”

“You make a good point, Dr. Baker,” Henry says, stretching, “But I’ve got to get back to the ER, so unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for that blush until next time.”

_So we’re just ignoring the fact that both of us are bright red.?_ “Until next time, Henry.”

“See you, Maddie.”

*****************

Henry is disposing of bloody gloves and a facemask after a successful surgery when a familiar face catches his eye. “Karen!” He calls.

She turns, hands on her hips, eyebrow raised. “Dr. Spencer,” she says, her voice cool.

“You’re not going down to the psychiatry department to bother Dr. Baker, are you?”

“What’s it to you?”

“She’s trying to do her job, which includes people other than your chick who may or may not have killed anyone. How would you feel if you were interrupted every day by someone telling you you weren’t doing your job fast enough?”

Karen laughs mirthlessly. “Welcome to law enforcement, Dr. Spencer.” With that, she turns on her heel and paces away.

Henry shrugs and moves to a wall-mounted phone, dialing for the psychiatry department. “Can I speak to Dr. Baker?” He asks the operator. He’s patched through to her office phone. “Heads up, Maddie,” he warns. “Detective Vick is headed your way.”

“Of course she is,” Maddie sighs, not sounding at all surprised that he’d called her up just to tell her. “Thanks for the alert.”

“Good luck, I’ll see you later.”

“If I ever make it through this mountain of paperwork.”

“You got this,” he says, imitating the voice his track coach had used. 

She laughs. “Great pep talk, Henry.”

“I try.”

*****************

Later that night, Madeline has still not finished her paperwork, and it’s nearly eleven at night. Someone knocks gently on the door; rather than answer it, she drops her head to the table and groans. Henry lets himself in anyway. “I think I got a ‘come in’ out of that,” he jokes.

Maddie gives him a tired smile. “Who knew I’d get more paperwork if she wasn’t guilty that if she was?”

“She didn’t do it, then?” He drags a chair up to sit next to her.

“No, I don’t think she did. It’s gonna be a long night of explaining that, though.” Maddie sighs and runs a hand through her hair, missing the way Henry’s face lights up with an idea. “I’ll be right back,” he promises, rushing out of the office. Maddie stares after him for a few seconds, then shrugs and goes back to her paperwork.

Fewer than ten minutes later, Henry returns with two containers of single-serving Chicken Soup from the cafe. “I hope you’re not a vegetarian, this was all they had that didn’t look toxic or over a week old.”

Maddie nearly lunges for the plastic bowl. “Are you kidding? I love chicken soup. You don’t even know how much I love it.” She opens the lid and inhales deeply. “Actually, you can eat the chicken. I just want the broth.”

Henry laughs and shakes his head. “As a doctor, I feel compelled to inform you that the chicken and vegetables are the nutritious part of chicken soup.”

“You’re a surgeon, not a nutritionist,” Maddie argues, slurping at her spoon.

“That’s true,” Henry concedes.

“Hey, do you want me to pay you for this? How much was it?”

He waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. My treat.”

Maddie smiles at him, not noticing how his own smile grows when she does. “Thank you, Henry.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As Madeline continues to forge through he paperwork, Henry remains a shadow at her side, organizing the papers into piles and folders. Sometime after midnight, she realizes he’s stopped, and turns to find him asleep on the couch of her small office. She smiles and walks over to him, shaking him gently. “Would you care to sleep somewhere more comfortable?”

“Nah. I’ll probably be called in in a few hours, anyway. Done with your paperwork?”

Maddie makes a face at her desk. “No… I should finish it…”

Henry tugs at her sleeve. “Later. Relax for a bit.” She does, almost melting onto the couch next to him. She only intends to rest her eyes for a few seconds, but Henry is warm beside her and she has been awake for a very long time.

A few minutes later, she is not awake anymore.


	3. Take the World and Redefine It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She looks damn beautiful, lying on his chest, strands of blonde hair falling across her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this takes place in the present day? I feel like I'd mentioned that before, but I'm bringing it up again bc Maddie and Henry discuss the 2019 NCAA basketball championship. On a related note, I know very little about basketball.

Henry wakes slowly to sunlight through an open window. It quickly becomes apparent that he is not in his own bed. He props himself up on his elbows, and in doing so, notices Maddie asleep on his chest. She must feel him shift, because her arms curl tighter around him, her fingers bunching in the fabric of his day-old scrubs. He starts to say her name but hesitates, unwilling to pull her from her slumber. She looks damn beautiful, lying on his chest, strands of blonde hair falling across her face. Henry slowly begins to rub circles on her back.

“Maddie,” he murmurs.

She slowly lifts her head to look at him. “Huh?”

She’s fucking captivating, blue eyes blinking sleepily up at him. He runs his fingers through her hair without realizing he’s doing it. “We fell asleep.”

“Yeah,” she agrees, making no move to get off of him. He continues to stare at her- at the sun on her hair, the sparkle of her eyes, the shine of her lips. He wonders idly what it would feel like to kiss her. Does she taste of mint? He can smell her chapstick from here.

Henry leans forward, just a bit.

Maddie leans even closer.

Henry’s eyes flutter closed.

The door bangs open, and Maddie shrieks and falls off the couch. Henry scrambles into a sitting position and helps her up. Both blushing, they stare at the newcomer.

“Um,” says Maddie, “Henry, this is Daisy Lanceden, my office-mate. Daisy, this is Henry Spencer, the head surgeon of the ER.”

“Hi,” offers Henry.  
Daisy puts her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow at Maddie. “I know who he is,” she says. “What I don’t know is why you were making out on my couch.”

“Oh, we weren’t-”

“I slept here.”

“We _accidentally_ slept here.”

 

“I was helping her with paperwork.”

“It’s technically not your couch.”

Maddie and Daisy continue to stare at each other for another minute or so. “I’m gonna… go…” Henry says awkwardly, standing and heading for the door. “I’ll see you, uh, around, Dr. Baker.”

“Bye, Dr. Spencer,” Maddie replies. She waves slightly, and he smiles at her as he slips out the door.

||||||||||||||

By lunchtime, it’s officially a beautiful day. Madeline buys two sandwiches from the cafeteria’s ‘deli’ section, and when she finds Henry (he always sits at the same table, far left row, three tables from the door) she suggests they take their food to the courtyard.

“You didn’t have to buy me a sandwich,” Henry protests as they sit on a bench.

“You bought soup last night,” she refutes. “It’s only fair.”

“Well, I’m not complaining.” Henry chews thoughtfully on his sandwich. “D’you think they buy these from somewhere else? Seems like they’re higher quality than the tacos and stuff.”

“Oh, for sure,” laughs Maddie. “These are a lot like the ones that the shop down the street makes.”

Henry chuckles, and for the next few minutes, they sit quietly and eat. Maddie only realizes how close to Henry she is when he shifts and she’s suddenly leaning against his shoulder. He doesn’t move away, so she figures there’s no reason for her to change the position, either.

“So, how about that championship game?” Henry says, referring to the college basketball game the week before.

“Oh, yeah,” says Maddie. “Virginia was impressive, I guess, but my sister went to Texas Tech. I’ve always been more interested in the women’s basketball, anyway.”

Henry nods. “UConn is pretty good,” he agrees. She smiles at how willing he is to switch topics. “Didn’t Baylor win this year?”

“Uh-huh. They played really well.”

“Good for them.”

They keep chatting, about basketball and the beautiful spring weather and how much they think the ER visit rates will spike when Spring Break arrives. Henry doesn’t bring up what had happened that morning, for which Maddie is grateful. The talk and laugh, and it feels so right, so normal, so _good_ that Maddie can barely believe she went two years at Santa Barbara General without getting to know Henry. After barely two months, her life is already so much the better for it.

|||||||||||||

Henry Spencer has been an ER Surgeon, which doesn’t allow for much routine, since a few years after he’d graduated from med school. It’s been almost a decade now, and he’s managed to eek out a tenuous balance between his random hours and his scant personal life. Only, over the next few weeks, Madeline Baker quickly changes everything he thought he was sure of. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

_Rule One: Work stays at work and home stays at home. I get called back to the ER too much for me to be bringing it home with me._

It’s Saturday evening, and Henry stands on the porch of his beachfront house, grilling a large fish he’d caught earlier that day. Ordinarily, he’d be admiring the view and internally planning what he’d use the second half of the fish for after he cooked it. Tonight, he’s laughing as Maddie teases him about the ‘surgical precision’ of his filets. He won’t have any leftovers after this.

“Thanks for inviting me,” she says, as they eat their meal and watch the colors of the sunset.

Henry finds himself looking more at Maddie than at the sky. “Of course. Friends make sure friends don’t spend their entire weekend writing psychological articles. Though it’s pretty damn cool that you’re gonna get published.”

“Yeah. It’s almost surreal…” Maddie grins at him despite her mouthful of fish. “It’s almost unheard of for someone at my stage in their career to be published in a big-name scientific journal.”

“I’m not surprised,” Henry responds flippantly. “You’re a fucking genius. It’s about time.”

She laughs and blushes. Henry thinks she’s much more dazzling than the sunset.

_Rule Two: Always sleep at home. Unless I’ve been on my feet for twenty hours and I won’t make it home for twenty more, there’s no reason to be at the hospital if I’m not working._

For the third day in a row, Henry wakes with his paperwork stuck to his face and a crick in his neck from sleeping on his office couch. This should be a horrible start to his morning, but the surgeon only tosses aside his papers and smiles at the woman sleep on top of him. Maddie, too, is going to have fold lines on her face when she wakes, he notices. He rubs her back softly until she wakes up, giving him a smile as she blinks sleepily.

“I guess we stayed up later than we meant to,” she laughs.

“I mean, yeah, my bed is more comfortable, but seeing you when I wake up is a decent trade-off,” Henry decides.

Maddie shakes her head. “Henry, I think you’ve officially hit best-friend status. Only a pretty damn spectacular guy would tell me I look good after a night on the couch.”

“Oh, no, you look horrible,” he teases. “I’ve never seen anything worse in my life. The only reason I keep doing this is because you make me laugh.”

She snorts, hitting him with her papers. “Ha, ha. I’m going to freshen up. Do you want coffee?”

It’s possible he shouldn’t be so happy just because she’d kind of laughed at his joke. “Coffee sounds amazing,” Henry replies. He starts rearranging his files to distract himself from the way her his sway as she leaves.

_Rule Three: Don’t date coworkers. Just don’t._

Henry hasn’t broken that one yet… but there are times, like that first morning on Maddie’s couch, when he’s tempted to. Hell, every time he finds her in a hallway, when he calls her name and her golden ponytail swishes as she turns to grin at him, he has to physically stop himself from asking her out. When she laughs so hard that she falls into him, it takes all his willpower not to wrap her in his arms and kiss every visible inch of skin. When she beams at him, when her ocean-blue eyes sparkle with happiness, it’s all he can do not to propose on the spot.

But no, he hasn’t broken Rule Three. He and Maddie are just friends, and any ridiculous impulses he might have aside, there’s no reason they shouldn’t stay that way. He values her wisdom and her friendship and her psychological expertise far too much to risk ruining their relationship. It’s fine by him if they stay friends for the rest of their lives.

(Henry remains convinced that the more he tells himself this, the truer it will be.)


	4. The World That's Waiting Up For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maddie and Henry steadfastly refuse to fall in love with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this in a while, but I'm trying to finish things. If I can get done the stories that I know have endings, then I can continue all my AU fics.

Maddie grins at Henry as she spreads out a blanket over the cement roof of the hospital. It’s the staff movie night, which means there’s a projector screen set up for a movie once it’s dark, and before that they can eat food and enjoy the sunset and the city skyline. “Do you know what movie is playing tonight?”

Henry smirks and raises an eyebrow. She… likes it when he does that, even if she refuses to think about why. “You came all the way up here on your night off and you didn’t know what movie is was?”

She stretches out so she’s lying on her stomach on the blanket, smiling up at him. “You invited me. Of course I was gonna come.”

Henry smiles at her, looking pleased. “Well, Dr. Baker, I’m honored. And tonight’s movie is that new animated one, _Into the Spider-Verse_. I’ve heard it’s really good.”

“Yeah, I watched it with my nephew a while back. It’s definitely one I’d watch again.” Maddie rolls over and gets to her feet, careful to keep the blanket clean. “Hey, let’s try those meatballs before they’re all gone.” Grabbing Henry by the wrist, she tugs him over to the food table.

::::::::

Henry’s grinning like he’s just won the lottery by the time the movie starts. Maddie had wasted no time in curling into him, and now they’re sitting with her almost in his lap and his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Henry loves the feeling, loves how her smaller body presses into his and how she’s so delightfully warm. If he focuses on how much he loves the individual feelings and experiences, it’s not the same as saying he loves her- which he doesn’t, because she’s his coworker and his best friend and it would be stupid of him on so many levels to mess that up with romantic feelings.

On screen, the kid watches as the blond spider-man swings around, saving the day. Henry watches for a bit, the turns to look at Maddie, who looks ethereal, bathed in the pale glow of the movie. She’s mostly smiling, though she winces at one part, and then full-out gasps. Henry finds her reactions much more entertaining than the actual movie.

::::::::::::

Maddie love this movie a lot, but she’d rather see Henry watch it- he’s never seen it before, after all. She keeps trying to turn slightly just to catch the expression on his face, but every time she does, he’s watching her.

She loves how he’s wrapped almost protectively around her, how he’s rubbing a hand gently over her arm. His warm presence behind her is reassuring, a reminder that he’s there for her, that he cares. She cares, too. Maybe a little too much.

Maddie knows it’s a bad idea to become… involved with a coworker, but she’s not sure she can halt whatever she feels for Henry. He makes her laugh and he’s gentle and kind and she can tell he has such a big heart filled with love for everyone. She’s tired of relationships that fizzle out when her partner inevitably becomes bored of working around her busy schedule, or unwilling to accept that she can’t do things sometimes because of her job. She wants something real, something solid. She wants Henry.

Which is great and all, but she still works with him. Also, there’s no reason to think he’s at all interested in her.

_This is not going to happen,_ she thinks. _No way. It’s way too risky._

:::::::::

Henry walks down to the parking garage with Maddie, both of them chatting happily about the movie. “The scene with Doc Ock was impressive,” says Maddie. “I honestly think her tech is really cool.”

“Oh, and when Aunt May kicked all the supervillains out of her living room?” Henry adds. “She was a spectacular character.”

They arrive at Maddie’s car to find two of her wheels entirely deflated. “Ugh,” she sighs. “I swear, nobody even tries to clean up down here. I must have parked on some broken glass.”

Henry frowns. “I assume you have a spare… do you want mine, too?”

She shakes her head. “I gave Daisy a lift last week, and I don’t have a new one. Damn, it is way too late at night for this.”

Henry checks his watch. “It’s almost midnight. You know what? I’ll drive you home.”

“Oh, you- you don’t have to-”

“Mad, I was raised right. I’m not gonna let a lady call a cab in the middle of the night.” He turns to her, suddenly looking nervous. “Unless you don’t want-”

She laughs and ducks under his arm, wrapping hers around his waist. “Of course I do. Thanks for offering.”

He’s smiling goofily for the whole ride.

::::::::::::

Maddie gives Henry a soft smile as they reach the door to her apartment complex. “Thank you for the ride, Henry.”

He waves, that rather hot half-smirk back on his face. “No problem.”

She’s four steps from the door and then five flights of stairs from her apartment. She should say goodbye and go inside, because it’s oh-dark-thirty and she has to be in by eight tomorrow. Still, she hesitates.

“I’d hate to make you drive all the way back to your place,” she ventures. “Especially because you have to go in early tomorrow. Do you… want to come in for hot chocolate, and then crash on my couch?”

_What are you doing, Baker? Of course he doesn’t want to crash on your couch when he could be in his own bed._

To her surprise, Henry nods. “That sounds great, Maddie. Thanks.”

He compliments her cocoa just about every time he opens his mouth. She curls into him and tries not to give in to the heaviness of her eyelids… but henry is warm and the cocoa is sweet and she’s really, really tired.

When her mug is empty, Maddie sets it on the table, and Henry does the same with his. Neither moves away from the other, henry continuing to hold Maddie in his arms and Maddie curling even closer into him. “You’re my best friend,” she whispers, curling into his chest.

He begins rubbing her back. “And you’re mine, Maddie. You’re mine.”

They both sleep on her couch that night. Soreness or no, neither of them regret it in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmmmm...not in love...at all...why would you even think that...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! Leave a comment or kudos, if you want!


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